Also known as the City by the Bay, San Francisco is diverse, colorful and vibrant. Famous for its steep hills, Victorian houses, year-round fog, beautiful panoramic vistas and excellent cuisine, the city attracts tens of millions of visitors every year. San Francisco is enormous yet pedestrian friendly, and the famous cable cars whisk you away towards new adventures. Its eclectic mix of architecture, sandy beaches, ethnic and cultural diversity make San Francisco a great choice for a vacation.

Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, an enchanting island lying off India's southern tip. These city folks go about their daily business with a cheerfulness born of optimism in this chaotic, noisy, and traffic-congested metropolis.

It’s easy to lose yourself In Istanbul’s grandiose history, but modern Istanbul is a simmering metropolis, well worth a visit in its own right. The shopping is world class and the nightlife pulsates around not one, but several districts. Even though Istanbul is no longer the capital, it’s still the country’s business and cultural centre, still the city where new trends are created.

Milan is famous as one of the world’s most influential fashion capitals, so make some room in your wardrobe and get ready for a makeover. Milan is a major cultural centre in Italy, with world class museums and galleries, the Duomo cathedral and ancient churches, impressive architecture of opulent Italian villas. After viewing da Vinci’s Last Supper, try Lombardi specials like ossobuco and risotto alla Milanese in one of the neighbourhood restaurants. Milan is the perfect starting point for exploring the prettiest landscapes of northern Italy.

Cartagena is the undisputed queen of Colombia's Caribbean coast and easily the most attractive city in the region — this given its apparent shortage of attractions in the classical sense of the word. Instead, what draws travelers in is the city itself: a microcosm of the Caribbean, walled-in by defensive ramparts built to ward off unwelcome visitors, the likes of Sir Francis Drake, who held Cartagena de Indias captive for months during his 16th century raids on the Spanish New World. Cumbia music fills the air in Cartagena's absurdly beautiful Old Town, while locals enjoy leisurely chats in inviting town squares, street vendors peddle their wares (look out for the incredibly photogenic palenqueras!), and vacationers explore streets lined with well-preserved colonial buildings, their balconies deluged with striking fuchsia-colored veranera. The first free town in the Americas founded by slave trade escapees — San Basilio de Palenque — is just an hour's drive from here.